2. What is ENGLISH SYNTAX?
"Sentence structure may ultimately be composed of many
parts, but remember that the foundation of each sentence
is the subject and the predicate. The subject is a word or
a group of words that functions as a noun; the predicate is
at least a verb and possibly includes objects and modifiers
of the verb."(Lara Robbins, Grammar and Style at Your Fingertips. Alpha Books, 2007)
In English grammar, sentence structure is the arrangement
of words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence
In English, the same set of words can convey different
meanings if they are arranged in different ways
3. Subject and Predicate
Every complete sentence contains two parts:
a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or
whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate
tells something about the subject.
In the following sentences, the predicate is enclosed
in braces ({}), while the subject is underlined
Judy {runs}.
Judy and her dog {run on the beach every morning}.
4. Four Types of Sentences in English
Language:
Declarative sentence
Imperative sentence
Interrogative sentence
Exclamatory sentence
5. And there are only three punctuation
marks with which to end a sentence:
Period
Question mark
Exclamation point
6. Declarative sentence:
simply makes a statement or expresses an
opinion
“I want to be a good writer.” (makes a statement)
“My friend is a really good writer.” (expresses an
opinion)
9. Exclamatory sentence:
a sentence that expresses great
emotion such as excitement, surprise,
happiness and anger
It is too dangerous to climb that mountain !
I got an A on my book report !
10. Clause part of a sentence that has
a subject and a predicate
dependent clause
independent clause
11. INDEPENDENT CLAUSE contains a
subject, a verb, and a complete thought
I wrote my first novel last year
DEPENDENT CLAUSE contains a subject
and a verb, but no complete thought
After I wrote my first novel last year
12. 1. John did his homework before he
went to bed.
2. We will do whatever is
necessary.
3. You may play outside until the
street lights come on.
4. I was very happy; I had pizza and
ice cream.
13. There are four main sentence structures
in the English language:
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
compound-complex
14. SIMPLE SENTENCE one independent
clause; contains a subject and a verb
Tom reads novels.
Tom and Harry reads novels. (compound subject)
Tom and Harry read and enjoys novels and newspapers.(compound subject,
verb, direct object)
FORMULA:
S = I
15. COMPOUND SENTENCE has two independent
clauses joined by
a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet,
so) FANBOYS BOAS
• Roy waited for the train, but the train was late.
a conjunctive adverb (e.g. however, therefore, or)
• Tom reads novels; however, Jack reads comics
a semicolon alone
• Tom reads novels; his friend reads comics.
FORMULA:
Cd = II
16. COMPLEX SENTENCE contains an
independent clause and at least one
dependent clause
joined by a subordinating conjunction such as
'however, after, although, as, because’
I really didn’t like the play although the acting was very good.
FORMULA:
Cx = I & D
17. After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at
the train station
When the dependent clause comes first, a comma
should be used to separate the two clauses.
Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station after they
left on the bus.
When the independent clause comes first, a comma
should not be used to separate the two clauses.
18. COMPOUND COMPLEX SENTENCE has one
complex sentence joined to a simple sentence with a
conjunction.
complex and simple sentences may be joined by a
coordinating conjunction(FANBOYS) or conjunctive
adverbs
joined by a correlative conjunctions
• He is not only intelligent, but also very funny.
• Jn is neither rich nor famous.
FORMULA:
Cd Cx = II & D
19. My father and I went to the movie that I had been wanting to see,
and then we went to the restaurant near the theater.
My father and I went to the movie [independent]
+ then we went to the restaurant near the theater [independent]
+ I had been wanting to see that (dependent)
= compound-complex sentence
20. Identify each sentence as complex or compound-complex
1. Before you leave for school , you need to make sure you have your lunch.
2. We can put together the puzzle, which Aunt Lucy brought, or we can play the board game that was in the closet.
3. Roy didn’t want to get wet, but when his sister pushed her into the pool, she didn’t have a choice.
Decide whether each group of words is a clause or not a clause
1. Under the bed or in the closet
2. Michael was not listening in class today
Decide if each clause is independent or dependent
1. While we were listening to the concert
2. One car seemed to go much faster than the other
3. When my dog finally stopped barking
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence
1. Have you made a decision about _______ to go to the movies _______ not? (Either/or, Whether/or, What with /
and, If / then)
2. This salad is _______ delicious _______ healthy. (Whether/or, Both/and, Rather/than)
Notas do Editor
A sentence is a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it, expresses a thought in the form of a statement, question, instruction, or exclamation, which starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop when written.
To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing "who?" or "what?" before it -- the answer is the subject
Using different types of sentences and punctuation, students can vary the tone of their writing assignments and express a variety of thoughts and emotions.
Learning about the different types of sentences and punctuation will help students become better writers by enabling them to convey various types of information and emotion in their writing.
In other words, it makes a declaration. This kind of sentence ends with a period.
It usually ends with a period but can, under certain circumstances, end with an exclamation point.
This type of sentence often begins with who, what,
where, when, why, how, or do, and it ends with a question mark.
and ends with an exclamation point.
One way to categorize sentences is by the clauses they contain.
(A clause is a part of a sentence containing a subject and a predicate.)
Sentence Structure may be one of four kinds, depending upon the number and type(s) of clauses it contains
An independent clause can stand alone as a separate sentence and does not start with a subordinator.
An independent clause is a clause that contains three things:
A subject (something or someone that the sentence is about)
An action (a verb - something that is being done)
A complete thought (there are no questions as to meaning at the end of the sentence)
A dependent clause is combined with an independent clause to make a longer sentence.
Please remember that a dependent clause is not considered a complete thought and
cannot be a sentence by itself. A dependent clause is a sentence fragment if it is not
connected to an independent clause
Dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence, but they can be added to an independent clause to form a complex sentence.
Decide if the red words form a dependent or independent clause.
Independent
Dependent
dependent
2 independent
In other words, a simple sentence is one complete thought.
Punctuation note: NO commas separate two compound elements
(subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, subjective complement, etc.) in a simple sentence.
A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses
An independent clause is a clause that contains three things:
A subject (something or someone that the sentence is about)
An action (a verb - something that is being done)
A complete thought (there are no questions as to meaning at the end of the sentence)
Coordinator There are seven coordinators in the English Language:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS are: but, or, and, so. Remember: boas For And Nor But Or Yet So FANBOYS to help you remember the seven coordinators.
When you have two independent clauses joined by one of these coordinators, that is a compound sentence. Usually a comma is required, before the coordinator.
A CONJUNCTION is a part of speech that connects phrases and clauses.
conjunctive adverb is a type of adverb that joins together two clauses. These clauses are usually independent clauses, otherwise known as complete sentences.
complex sentence, which is an independent clause that is joined with a dependent clause
A dependent clause starts with a SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION. Examples: that, because, while, although, where, if.)
SAMPLE- after although as because before even though if since though unless until when whenever whereas wherever while
As / as, Both / and, Either / or,Hardly / when, If / then, Just as / so, Neither / nor, Not only / but also, No sooner / than, Not / but, Rather / than, Scarcely / when
What with / and, Whether / or
1.Complex 2. Compound-complex 3. Compound-complex
1. Not a clause 2. clause
1. dependent 2. independent 3. dependent
Have you made a decision about whether to go to the movies or not?
Answer: B. This salad is both delicious and healthy.
